Rum Raisin, Pecan Frangipane & Milk Chocolate Buns
These rum raisin, pecan frangipane and milk chocolate chip buns got me thinking about why I love baking so much. Me without baking is like a birthday without cake. It’s honestly my whole world.
I've come to realise that I love it so much because its not a necessity. It’s about comfort and indulgence. It’s both for those bigger celebrations and the everyday coffee and cake you have with a friend. It’s the end of a Sunday roast, even though you say you couldn’t eat another morsel. And yes it pushes you over the edge, and you end up in a food coma on the sofa.
It’s memories of your mums apple crumble and grannie’s lemon drizzle cake. It's not something you need to survive although, I may say for me it is because I can’t go a day or two without something sweet! It’s the extra something that someone has taken the time to bake for you. It can’t be rushed and it takes a whole lot of love.
These buns where born out of a want to kick start some festivities with some boozy rum & orange soaked raisins. I knew they would pair perfectly with a toasty pecan frangipane and sweet milk chocolate. Slathered in a cream cheese frosting while they're still warm, they're the unnecessary but completely necessary dessert we all need.
Ingredients - makes 8
Milk Bun Dough:
Tangzhong:
25g strong flour
55ml whole milk
55ml water
Dough:
340g strong flour
7g active dried yeast
25g caster sugar
5g salt
1 egg
100ml whole milk
55g unsalted butter, room temp
Rum Raisins:
100g raisins
40ml fresh orange juice (approx. 1 large orange)
60ml rum
Pecan Frangipane:
67g unsalted butter, softened
67g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
50g eggs
40g ground almonds
40g ground pecans
8g custard powder
80g milk chocolate chips
Cream Cheese Frosting:
100g unsalted butter
150g cream cheese
170g icing sugar, sieved
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Method
The day before
For the milk bun dough, you’re going to start with the Tangzhong. Place all the Tangzhong ingredients into a saucepan over low heat. Stir everything together and continue to cook until a paste has formed. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook, place all of the milk bun dough ingredients apart from the butter. Add in the cooled Tangzhong. Mix on medium speed until the dough has come together. Continue to knead on medium-high for 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic. On low speed, gradually add in the butter a few small pieces at a time. Once all the butter has been added, scrape down the bowl if needed and knead on medium-high for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and slapping the sides of the bowl.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to prove for 1 hour at room temperature or until doubled in size. Knock back the dough, recover and refrigerate overnight.
For the rum raisins; place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir together. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.
For the pecan frangipane; lightly cream together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add in the eggs, making sure to scrape down the bowl as you mix. Once combined, mix in the ground almonds, ground pecans and custard powder. Spoon into a container and refrigerate overnight.
The next day
Take the pecan frangipane out of the fridge for 30 minutes to let it soften. Prepare one or two baking trays lined with baking paper.
Knock back the milk bun dough and tip it out onto a lightly floured worktop. Roll the dough into a 12x12inch square. Spread over the pecan frangipane in an even layer. Sprinkle over the soaked rum raisins, leaving any excess juices that haven’t been soaked up behind. Lastly, scatter the milk chocolate chips over the frangipane as well. Lightly press the raisins and chocolate chips into the frangipane. Roll up the dough into a log, pushing on the ends once it’s rolled up to make the log an even width, bringing it back to 12inches if it has stretched slightly.
Cut the log into eight pieces at 1.5inches each. Arrange them on your prepared baking trays, cut side up, with plenty of space between them. Cover the trays and leave to prove for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
About 20 minutes before your buns are finished proving, pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Bake the buns for 20-25 minutes until they’re just turning golden and the frangipane is baked. These don’t need to be baked too dark as you want them to still be nice and soft.
When the buns are baking, you can make the cream cheese frosting. Simply cream the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Mix in the cream cheese and salt. Once the buns have been cooling for 10 minutes, divide the frosting between the 8 buns and spread it over the top.
These are best eaten the day they’re made but they will last well up to 3 days.